From the story in Crosscut by Nimra Ahmad:

For Michael McAndrews, 57, deciding to participate in the Redmond community court to seek dismissal of a drug paraphernalia charge was a no-brainer. He didn’t expect to get anything else out of it, but was pleasantly surprised. 

During his initial assessment, McAndrews brought up the fact that his driver’s license was suspended, so he was driving illegally, and community court helped him get it reinstated. His housing situation was also fragile, and he was at risk of experiencing homelessness a second time. His community court coordinator helped him obtain a Section 8 housing voucher. 

Due to the nature of his charge, he was also required to attend meetings for substance use and take frequent drug and alcohol tests. Those requirements encouraged his sobriety, which McAndrews said he’s continuing to practice after graduating from community court. 

Having prior convictions, McAndrews said that each time he’d been to traditional court, he experienced an “impending feeling of doom.” He felt that he was stuck in a vicious cycle — not unlike the “revolving door of justice” Cruz described — where he had outstanding warrants and was constantly returning to court, in part due to the issues community court helped him deal with. 

Community court offered a different, more positive atmosphere, where McAndrews felt respected and supported by the entire team from the judges to the prosecutors, and he definitely got more out of the experience than just having that charge removed from his record. 

“It definitely was a stepping stone for me to move forward,” McAndrews said. “Everything’s going in a positive direction in most aspects of my life and I’m way happier.”